Tag Archives: Brett Favre

SUPER BOWL XXXII RUNNER UP 1997 GREEN BAY PACKERS

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Super Bowl XXXII between the Denver Broncos and the Green Bay Packers was a classic case of over coaching in Denver’s 31-24 upset win.  Was it really an upset??  The years of free agency made the AFC as physical as the NFC.

In the previous 3 seasons, you saw the AFC getting more physical in their Super Bowl representative. San Diego in XXIX, Steelers in XXX, and Patriots in XXXI.  They weren’t like my Buffalo Bills in 3 of the previous 4 Super Bowls before that were being beaten on the lines and out hit.  Yet Green Bay was set to defend their title with Reggie White, Gilbert Brown, Santana Dotson and that defensive front.

What happened? The ’97 edition of the Packers were stout and were more in harmony as an offense. Edgar Bennett had been lost to injury. No worries, Dorsey Levens picked up the slack and had a career year with nearly 1,500 yards rushing.  A powerful runner that gave Green Bay a stronger running game than they had in ’96.  Robert Brooks was healthy and teamed with Antonio Freeman to give Favre the perfect set of receivers to go along with Pro Bowl TE Mark Chmura.  Freeman had become a star in ’97 and could be found on the end of many of Brett Favre’s 35 TDs thrown that year.  Brett was Co-MVP of the league and first time a player won it 3 straight years.  They were better X’s and O’s but what was missing?

Desmond Howard and Keith Jackson were missing.  Howard we’ll get to later, yet Jackson was the long time tight end who had come over as a free agent, had retired after the championship the previous year.  The Packers would use a little more two tight ends with Chmura and Jackson which kept teams honest. This protects an offense from overload blitzes a majority of the time.

xxxiii6The Packers also could split either TE away from the line so that formation wise they could keep a defense deployed in base personnel and back a few teams out of a blitz.  Evidenced by Keith Jackson’s huge game in the NFC Championship in ’95 v. Dallas with over 100 yards receiving in that game.  Yet here they were 13-3 again and headed to the Super Bowl looking to become a dynasty.

I can still see the Packers ripping off 13 yd runs by Levens, and 13 yd passes by Favre in this the Super Bowl where the NFC was on a 13 game winning streak.  I can still see that pretty pass from Favre to Freeman to end the first drive with a TD and a 7-0 lead.  The Packers were off and runnin’…yet took the ball out of Dorsey Levens hands when he was running wild on the worst run defense, by ranking (16th & 31st against the run), and yards per carry avg. to make the Super Bowl up to that point.  This led to Favre being under more pressure from a blitzing Bronco defense.

After a Steve Atwater sack and forced fumble led to the Packers being behind 17-7, the Broncos had wrested strategic control from Green Bay.  Dorsey Levens was a pass blocker and part time receiver now that they were playing catch-up. Denver on the other hand had Terrell Davis to keep running north /south on the Packers defense tiring them out.  So is that great scouting by the Broncos or over coaching on the Packer’s part?

The Chancellor of Football thought over coaching since they took the ball out of Levens hands first when he had 11 carries for 62 yards at the half, including 5 runs of 7 yards or more. He was averaging 5.6 yards per carry yet Holmgren put the game in Brett Favre’s hands instead and right into the path of Bronco Defensive CoOrdinator Greg Robinson’s blitzers.

xxxii7In 1997 the defending champion Packers were a juggernaut and in many ways were just as strong as their 1996 champion.  They didn’t have Desmond Howard as the game breaking catalyst and it didn’t come back to haunt them until the late 3rd quarter in Super Bowl XXXII. When Antonio Freeman fumbled a kickoff that fired up the Broncos when Denver had just scored to take a 24-17 lead. It was ironic that roughly at about the same point in XXXI, Desmond took the kickoff the distance to deflate the Patriots.  Here it sent a shot of confidence and excitement through the Bronco sideline. Only a few plays before was the John Elway diving helicopter run.

Yet this team did win the NFC Championship in San Francisco with a 23-10 win to end Steve Mariucci’s rookie season.  The week before they held off the upstart Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional game 21-7 in a game made famous by the back and forth taunting between Brett Favre and Warren Sapp.  That was a transcendent game yet Tampa didn’t have a ready for primetime offense that sank them.  This team should have repeated.

Yet tactically they gave it away.

Levens in the ’97 NFC Championship out in San Fran.

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SUPER BOWL XXXI CHAMPION 1996 GREEN BAY PACKERS

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Reggie White, Mike Holmgren, and Brett Favre brought the term “Titletown” back to Green Bay when they beat New England 35-21 in Super Bowl XXXI.  It was fun to actually have a champion Packer team in my lifetime because it had a great feel to just say it. The championship had been gone from the land of Lombardi for 29 years.

One of the strongest teams of the 1990s and maybe the strongest team in Packer history.  This team had absolutely no holes and overcame injuries to receivers Robert Brooks, and Antonio Freeman (playing the latter half with a plate in his arm). With Brett Favre throwing a conference record 39 TDs. They wound up becoming the first team since the ’72 Dolphins to score the most points (456) while allowing the fewest (210). Although they were 13-3 with Brett Favre coming of age, they needed that signature game which would show the league they were going to win it all. In came the perennially strong San Francisco 49ers for the divisional playoff.

The NFC Championship was fitting in that it pitted the Packers (NFL’s richest tradition) against the NFC’s newest team in the Carolina Panthers.

I’m normally an underdog guy, but not this time. Especially after watching the 1995 Packers get jobbed with a ton of bad calls in the Championship game in Dallas. Talk about a twelfth man…damn! That game left you feeling like the best team didn’t win but set the course for this team to dominate 1996 from start to finish.

Possibly the first true champion of the free agent era. Reggie White (Eagles), DE Sean Jones (Oilers), FS Eugene Robinson (Seahawks), Mike Prior (Colts), TE Keith Jackson (Dolphins), WR Andre Rison, and KR Desmond Howard (Jacksonville) gave the Packers a veteran group that added to the team’s sense of urgency. Not bad for an organization that was used arguing against free agency. It was expressed the Packers wouldn’t attract black players if true free agency came to the NFL. Once they nabbed Reggie White, the rest was history.

Now let’s be honest, this team should have gone back to back but Holmgren over-coached against the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII in 1997.  Dorsey Levens was ripping off 13 yd runs repeatedly in the first quarter and Holmgren took the ball out of his hands. Which fed right into the blitzing Broncos and the Pack was having a problem picking them up which forced the fumble and interception that forced Green Bay to play catch-up.  Further taking the ball out of Dorsey Levens hands….of course that’s just my opinion I could be wrong.

super-bowl-logo-1996The 1996 Green Bay Packers were a meteor that you could see coming from a year away. A game New England Patriots team tried to stop them and narrowed the score to 27-21 when Desmond Howard brought the house down with a 99 yard return. Game…set…match 35-21 and the Lombardi Trophy returned to Green Bay.

If you look at the difference between the ’96 champion team and the ’97 squad, the difference was Antonio Freeman couldn’t break games open as Howard could. Desmond set the NFL record with 875 punt return yards alone. A quick vignette on how dominant he was coming down the stretch:

 

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The Super Bowl XXXI Championship Trophy in The Packers Hall of Fame visited by The Chancellor Alumni Weekend 2017.

This article is dedicated to the memories of Fritz Shurmur, Reggie White, Wayne Simmons, Pete Rozelle, & Vince Lombardi.

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The Chancellor’s Take: Green Bay Packers & Brett Favre’s Broken Relationship – HOF Edition

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Coach Mike Holmgren being carried off after winning Super Bowl XXXI.

Originally published 24 July, 2012 w/ Postscript 13, August 2016

Former Packers coach Mike Holmgren was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and didn’t have his two marquee players there with him. Of course the deceased Reggie White couldn’t attend but Brett Favre’s absence was glaring. It would have been in Favre’s best interest to have taken the high road and gone but the lingering hard feelings are evident. It’s time to mend this broken relationship.

What is disturbing is how fast Packers fans turned on him. How hard would it be to leave a job you loved to do?? Many of us can’t answer that because our professions were something we chose to do for financial reasons not one of passion.

For every “cheesehead” Packer fan: Can you tell me anything about John Brockington or Terdell Middleton?? You remember those guys right?? How about Vince Ferragamo?? He was the quarterback that took the Los Angeles Rams to Super Bowl XIV against the Steelers. You do remember he played for the Packers right?? What number did he wear since #15 was obviously retired for Bart Starr?? For those of us that are 40-45, when we were kids, none of us living outside of Wisconsin could tell you we had met a Packer fan.

holmgren.packerhalloffamesnifterAfter Lombardi, it was 29 years before the Packers played for another NFL title. Green Bay was the place no one wanted to play for. In fact one of the famous quips on NFL Films by Buccaneers former coach John McKay, ” If these guys won’t get back I’ll run ’em to Green Bay.” This was during Tampa’s horrid 0-26 start as a franchise!!

The only Green Bay games of distinction during that 3 decade drought that anyone can remember was the 1982 NFL Divisional Playoff loss to Dallas 38-27 and the 1983 Monday Night win over the World Champion Redskins 48-47. The latter was the highest scoring Monday Night Game in NFL history. The Packers returned to national prominence when WR John Jefferson was traded from the San Diego Chargers for those early 80’s seasons.

Brett Favre made it fashionable to be a Green Bay Packer fan.

The real reason why folks can’t remember the aforementioned names and the two games I stated were many of you weren’t Green Bay Packer fans. It didn’t become fashionable until the era of Brett Favre and Mike Holmgren. You may have been cheering for the Los Angeles Rams, St Louis Cardinals, Dallas, or Oakland, but this nationwide surge of Packer fans is new. You can recall the rich Packers history from the 1960’s but the other years lie somewhere in the abyss.

Well in 1992 all of that changed. Brett Favre was the backup when Don Majowski fell to injury and an umproven player had to come off the bench. We remember him winning the game with a pass to Kittrick Taylor with :23 left in the game. He ran around like a child after winning his first NFL game. He did it again when he did it with less than :40 to go to win his first playoff game when he hit Sterling Sharpe in 1993. He played with passion and from the hip. He broke Ron Jaworski’s NFL record of consecutive games played at QB (114) the week of Walter Payton’s death in 1999. He was still playing in 2009??

Of course those 1st few years he made great plays and experienced some growing pains as the Packers battled for respectability. They returned to the playoffs in 1993 and ’94 but it was his 1995 season where he won the first of his 3 consecutive MVP awards:

During his 16 years he gave everything he could on the field for the Packers. Other quarterbacks are more revered as “West Coast” quarterbacks yet none of them had better seasons than he did. Do you realize the most TDs Joe Montana threw for in a season was 31 during the strike shortened season of 1987?? Brett threw for 38, 39, and 33 in 1995-1997 alone in that same offense.  He won his 3 MVPs in those same years. He gave real Packer fans and NFL fans everywhere for that matter more thrills than any other player. The “go for it” mentality is what endeared him to most fans not his stats. Although he has plenty now that he is the NFL’s all time winningest quarterback and yardage leader with 71,838 yards and 508 TDs. The question The Chancellor has if he didn’t do enough to decide on when he wanted to retire, who did??

The Packers organization decided to go with Aaron Rodgers after the 2007 season when Favre didn’t want to retire. His decision and indecision was well chronicled over the next few seasons yet it was his play that led the Packers to relevancy. Just like last year it was pointed out that the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, and Lucas Oil Stadium itself, wouldn’t be in existence had it not been for Peyton Manning. Lambeau Field has been renovated twice and had a Hall of Fame built inside of it based on the relative wealth this team saw during Favre’s years. The estimated wealth of the Packers rose from less than $200 million to $1.09 Billion last year according to Forbes.

This is good enough for being the 9th richest franchise where they were in the teens in relative worth a decade ago. In fact when you google the relative worth of the Packers organization by year, every time Favre’s name is in the description.  You were able to rebuild your team for Aaron Rodgers because of Favre continuing to win for you while the young players developed. You owe your relative wealth and the development of the new Packers to him.

This is the reason I believe the Packers should reach out to him, retire his jersey on a Monday Night, and have a ceremony for him.  Do it before long-standing resentment settles in. It would be terrible to see this fractured relationship go on for decades like it did for Terry Bradshaw. By the time he and the Steelers came together, Art Rooney Sr, Mike Webster, and Steeler announcer Myron Cope had all passed on. In fact Three Rivers Stadium was even gone. It was bittersweet.

In a few years he is eligible for the Hall  of Fame and the league is going to celebrate him and its in the Packers interest to do it first. If you wait until its within a year of his induction, it will look like an afterthought or at worst a knee jerk reaction to his being brought up nationally. This way the healing can start.

Every player that leaves via free agency has wanted to show their old team they could still do it. Its nothing new. Do you remember the round robin of former Chiefs signing with the Raiders and vice versa in the mid 90s?? There were 10 players that left one team and went to the other. RB Harvey Williams, RB Marcus Allen, CB Albert Lewis to name a few. Even Buffalo Bill great Thurman Thomas even signed with the hated Dolphins.

Yet he, just like LaDainian Tomlinson this year all came back and signed a 1 day contract so they could retire with their original team. You’ve lost that chance but now you need to make sure he attends the next ceremony. Honor him before the rest of football does or you’ll come off as looking petty. After all you showed him the door…now open a new one and honor him in Packer lore. Time to get over it… now when he walks up to the podium and you see the wear and tear he gave on Lambeau’s surface, the memories will come flooding back to you.

Try this one out: This is the moment The Chancellor believes he left his contemporaries behind and made the Hall of Fame.

After the departure of Packer Hall of Fame coach Mike Holmgren and Reggie White’s retirement, the Packers weren’t thought of as an elite team. This was 1999 and Ray Rhodes was the coach and being the only marquee player, the team started off 1-1 and in that lone victory Favre took the Packers to the winning score beginning with 1:51 on the clock.

Their 3rd game was against the Minnesota Vikings who had unseated the Packers the season before as the bully on the NFC Central block. Randy Moss and the Vikings had scorched the Packers a season before and this was a big game. A defensive struggle that saw Moss score the apparent winning touchdown and gave the Packers the football with 1:51 (ironically) to go. Favre drove his team down and this was the finish…on the move with no time outs on 4th down and the clock running with :20 seconds to go. No way he could do it for a second straight week…. could he??

Only two times during John Madden’s career did he make his way down to the locker room to congratulate a player. The first was Emmitt Smith in 1993 when he and the Cowboys beat the Giants 13-10 when he played with a separated shoulder. This was the second. Great players respect great players and you saw Moss come across and greet Favre after the game.  A game for the ages that saw him pull off miracle after miracle and had the Rams and Kurt Warner not emerged, could have had his 4th straight MVP.

Again, as an organization step up and bring Favre in for a retirement ceremony of #4. He deserves it and it would be best for Packer fans and NFL fans everywhere.  Its time.

Postscript August 13, 2016: We fast forward 4 years and last year his return to Lambeau Field was an incredible event. Over 60,000 in Lambeau just for Farve to come on the field and offer a few words before the Packers Hall of Fame celebration. Then the jersey retirement during the season where Bart Starr made it to the game was cathartic for all NFL fans not just those of the Packers. Which brings us to last weekend and his enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

VanAcker@hallPacker fans traveled far and wide to attend the enshrinement festivities last weekend. Met them from North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, all of Wisconsin and like my new fellow fanatics Ryan VanAcker (from Arizona) and his brother Ronald from Michigan, Favre fans were out in force.

You could feel the excitement emanating from Packer fans as the induction ceremony neared. The pressure building as Packer jerseys outnumbered all other teams represented 20 to 1 easily. Even on the day I toured “The Hall” for the first time I wore an autographed Jerry Kramer jersey I had received from the family a couple weeks before. Finally the emotion and love for Favre exploded in a crescendo of “Go Pack! Go!” right before Chris Berman introduced him:

Although time heals all wounds, there was still the subtle jab of the Favre Viking jersey in the locker display at the Hall of Fame. He said all the right things about “always being remembered as a Green Bay Packer” but you think about it… you can almost see him having a mischievous grin when it came time to decide what to showcase.  But that’s Favre… the fun but flawed, every man who happened to become one of the best quarterbacks in history.

Where Brett wasn’t there for Mike Holmgren’s enshrinement into the Packers’s Hall of Fame, coach was in Canton for this one. I had the chance to meet him right after the ceremony at the base of the stage and we talked as we were being led out to the shuttles for the after parties. To be feet away as they shared words words for the first time right after his speech, was to see this come full circle. Especially from the feeling when I wrote the article originally. A great experience.

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Favre Hall of Fame Bust

Congratulations Brett Favre… Pro Football Hall of Famer!!

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Sterling Sharpe Belongs In The Hall of Fame

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As those in and Packerland celebrate the team’s 13th championship in NFL history, the mind travels back to when Green Bay was the desolate outpost that few players wanted to go to.  The team had a celebrated past yet the years after Vince Lombardi’s team won Super Bowl II were lean with very few postseason appearances.

Everyone points to the hiring of GM Ron Wolf  or Mike Holmgren, or Reggie White’s free agent signing in 1993, or even Brett Favre being picked up in 1992 as the first step in the team returning to prominence.  Each were significant but weren’t the first step.  That distinction belongs to former All Pro receiver Sterling Sharpe who became the preeminent receiver of his time and was outplaying the legendary Jerry Rice at the time of his forced retirement because of a neck injury.

The Packers selected Sharpe in the ’88 NFL Draft and he played for 7 seasons. During that time he would go on to produce….nope not going to tell the story in that fashion. This was Terrell Owens before Terrell Owens meaning he would run over cornerbacks who tried to jam him or tackle him on slants.  I can still see the touchdown in ’92 when he drug CB Darryl Henley and half the LA Rams secondary into the endzone from the 5 yard line, knocking out Safety Pat Terrell in the process.

In an era where receivers were sleek, run and shoot quick guys like Earnest Givins, Drew Hill, & Andre Rison as the preferred types.  Michael Irvin and Sterling Sharpe were breaking in a new mold later carried on by Detroit’s Herman Moore and Minnesota’s Cris Carter.  The muscular intermediate receiver who were physical with cornerbacks then would slip by them for 40 yard gains later in the game once they beat up on them a bit.

Sterling started rather slow with a 55 catch rookie season where he only scored 1 touchdown and vowed to improve his approach to the game.  He felt the media was harsh in how they treated him and nearly went the rest of his career without granting an interview…well almost.  In 1989 he burst onto the national scene with 90 receptions for 1,423 yards and 12 TDs, earning the first of his 5 Pro Bowl and All Pro appearances.

He teamed with Don Majkowski to power The Pack to a stellar record of 10-6 which included a late season win over the World Champion 49ers in Candlestick.  He became the focal point of Head Coach Lindy Infante’s offense and gave the Packers a legitimate star to help attract Plan B free agents. Sharpe went on to Pro Bowl and All Pro status in the 1990, 1992-1994 seasons.

The greatness of this talent was showcased in 1992, he had to learn a new offense from a new coach in Mike Holmgren and during the third game learn to play with first time starter Brett Favre. How did he perform?

Well he went on to break Art Monk’s all time NFL record of 106 catches in a season, going for 108.  He totaled a career high 1,461 yards and scored another 13 TDs.  Sharpe won the triple crown as he led the NFL in receptions, yards, and touchdowns in 1992 which is amazing considering the coach & quarterback scenario.

Think about it for a sec… Jerry Rice’s most prolific years were 1987 and 1995 where he totaled 22 TDs receiving (87) and 122 catches / 1,808 yards gained in 1995.  These were achieved with league MVPs & Super Bowl MVPs Joe Montana and Steve Young in their 8th and 5th seasons as starters respectively. So naturally he would get better in the ensuing years with a new system in place right?

In 1993, his second year in Holmgren’s system, he broke his previous All Time NFL record of 108 catches going for 112 rec., 1,274 yard and 11TDs.  He also introduced “turf toe” as an injury to the sporting world lexicon which was a dislocated large toe basically.  The painful injury not only kept him from practicing ALL YEAR, he had to wear a shoe 1 1/2 sizes larger on the foot with the injury. What would he have done had he been able to hone his pass routes in practice?

sterling-sharpe-record-glovesThe Packers went 9-7 and made the playoffs as a wild card.  They played their division rival Detroit Lions in the Silverdome and Sharpe electrified with a 5 rec., 101 yd 3TD performance.  His 3TD receptions tied the NFL All-Time Post season record which still stands.  The last of which (pictured above) was a 40 yard TD from Favre with less than a minute to play.  Not bad for his first playoff game huh? It was a day so interesting and exciting that he broke his 5 year boycott of granting interviews and spoke at the post game press conference.

The next week the Packers lost to the world champion Dallas Cowboys 27-17 yet Sharpe caught 6 passes for 128 yards and 1 TD.  He showed he was a prime time performer even in the postseason.  He had led the league in receptions in back to back years and was still improving with a young up and coming quarterback.  What more could the future hold?

Yet 1994 proved to be the last season in the NFL for Sterling Sharpe. A promising career cut short with a serious neck injury that robbed us of viewing the best receiver in the league at the time. Really? Yes really! Sharpe went out with a bang. In ’94 he amassed 94 rec. for 1,119 yards and an astounding 18 touchdowns.

The 18 receiving TDs were the second most in NFL history (at that time) tying the old all time record with Mark Clayton (who did it in ’84) and who ironically was Sharpe’s teammate in ’93.  Along the way there was a much ballyhooed showdown on Thanksgiving in Dallas to show the nation Sharpe and the Packers had arrived.  They lost 42-31, but again Sharpe dazzled the nation with a 9 rec. 122 yards and 4 TDs on the league’s #1 defense,  totally outperforming counterpart Michael Irvin.  Both players, along with Andre Rison, battled Jerry Rice in the stat sheets for league supremacy at receiver in the early 90’s.  However Sharpe missed the playoff rematch and retired after the season.

Sterling Sharpe left the game after 7 super productive seasons with 595 rec. for 8,134 yards and 65 TDs which doesn’t truly paint the full picture. In his last 3 years he caught 314 passes for 3,854 yards and 42 TDs averaging 104 receptions per season. At that rate over 3 more seasons he would have crossed 900 catches for almost 12,000 yards and 107 TDs which he easily would have done.  How do we know this? Brett Favre’s next three years in ’95,’96, and ’97, not only was he league MVP all 3 years, he threw for 38, 39 and 35TDs in those seasons.

Those three seasons the Packers lost the NFC Championshp Game in ’95 yet made the Super Bowl the next two years. It’s a shame that the team he led back to NFL prominence would go on to be league champion without him.  Ironically his brother Shannon gave him his first Super Bowl ring when the Broncos defeated the Packers in Super Bowl XXXII, citing Sterling as his greatest male influence.

How do you gauge impact? Well you need to ask yourself a few questions.  In 1992 Mike Holmgren was the hottest coaching commodity when the Vikings, Steelers, and Packers were vying for his services.  Seeing that Holmgren wanted to install his “west coast offense”, don’t you think Green Bay won out by having Sterling Sharpe as his Jerry Rice already in tow to play his “Z” receiver?  What happens if the star receiver wasn’t on hand to aid a nervous young Brett Favre, allowing him to gain confidence?

If he would have struggled, Don Majkowski gets his job back 7 weeks later and we may never have known of Brett… think about it. Favre only became the NFL’s all time quarterback in ….well everything. In fact it was Sharpe who got Favre rolling in his first start against Pittsburgh absolutely scorching Rod Woodson on a stutter-go 76 yard touchdown to settle Favre down.  Without Sterling Sharpe, NFL history and certainly Green Bay Packers history would have been altered drastically.

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This was a talent that blocked in the running game and didn’t dance in the endzone when he did score.  He didn’t jump up signaling first down when he made a catch.  He was the absolute antithesis of the “me” receiver that has overtaken the league over the last 20 years.  After Charlie Hennigan in 1961 ( 101 rec. /AFL’s Houston Oilers), Art Monk in ’84 (106 rec. / Washington Redskins), and ’90 Jerry Rice (100 rec. / San Fran 49ers) it was Sharpe who made the 100 catch season a staple in league totals, going for 108 receptions then 112 the following year.

The fact that he didn’t self promote on every television camera he saw yet isn’t in the Hall of Fame, may give way to why we see receivers that do.  Gale Sayers isn’t the only great player to have his career cut short by injury so Sharpe needs to be more than considered.  His play and on field conduct was a celebration of how and why football is played and loved by millions.

Please lend your thoughts as well by writing in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to the address below. Please be respectful and positively lend your voice:

Please write & nominate #84
Send letters to:
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Attention: Senior Selection Committee
2121 George Halas Dr NW, Canton, 
OH 44708

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corey harris

2011 Packers Preview

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Alright we had a break after a breath taking Super Bowl where we watched the Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in the 45th edition. Now we turn our attention to the upcoming football season.  We want to avoid the labor talks because we’ll all be inundated with that talk through television outlets and we want to keep the talk on pro football.  Where do we begin?  How about where we left off?  Going into 2011, we watched the Green Bay Packer’s 2nd string win the Super Bowl.  If we were to address issues with the defending champion where would you start.  Mark Murphy and Ted Thompson have to be grinning from ear to ear.

Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers joined the pantheon of quarterbacks that are the vanguard of future expected excellence at the quarterback position.  Accurate, mobile, and fearless he stands to wrest the mantle of NFL’s best QB from Tom Brady and Peyton Manning with an excellent 2011.  Think about it.  Of the 3 Super Bowl seasons Tom Brady had the best statistically was 2004, where he threw for 3,690 yards 28TDs, and 14 interceptions.  Last year despite missing 2 games with injury, Rodgers threw for 3,922 yards 28 TDs and only 11 interceptions for the Packers.  More importantly he didn’t have Corey Dillon run for 1,635 like Brady had either.  Rodgers had to manufacture yardage while the Packers ground game struggled to replace Ryan Grant.

Mobile, accurate, and fearless he is the first quarterback since Brady that we knew he had the better part of a decade left to shape his career after a Super Bowl triumph.  Barring injury, Rodgers would have thrown for 4,000 yards for a third consecutive season and second straight with more than 30TDs.  With Brady and Manning going into their “grey” years this is one of the quarterbacks that will own this decade.  Matt Flynn showed in the 24-21 loss to the Patriots he can move the football if Rodgers has some time away from the field.  As for Rodgers (shaking my head) Clearly on the rise…

Offensive Backfield: How can this team not get stronger with a return of a healthy Ryan Grant?  His 3,412 yards on 782 carries over the last three years is a lofty 4.36 yards per carry. Back to back 1,200 yard rushing seasons have shown that he can be a workhorse.  With his injury coming early in the season he saved his body from wear and tear and should be fresh coming into the new year.  James Starks and Brandon Jackson are serviceable.  I see the Packers exploiting Starks to spell Grant in the upcoming year.  He didn’t fumble in the playoffs as a rookie and had patient feet as a runner.  Jackson will be relegated to special teams since Grant is a good receiver out of the backfield.  Starks came into his own going into the playoffs and to play that well with the stakes at their highest, his confidence should be soaring coming into the new year.

Packers have a folk hero in John Kuhn whom fans relate to. His emergence along with Boise State product Korey Hall give Green Bay power backs to move the pile on 3rd and 1 or goalline offense.  However, both Kuhn and Hall have to get their noses dirty as blockers and each do so willingly.  The fullbacks will lose carries to Starks.   Look for the Packers to use Starks and his big body behind either Kuhn or Hall on most short yardage situations and save Grant from heavy pounding.  With all defensive eyes on Rodgers this could be quietly the best backfield in Packers history with a combination 1200 yard season by Grant and a 600-700 yard season by Starks. This of course barring injury.

Offensive Line: Although they tied for 10th in the NFL for most sacks allowed with 38, this group performed well in the playoffs.  They stymied the feared Steelers pass rush in Super Bowl XLV.  However this line did give up 15 sacks over the final 6 games of the regular season.  They must protect Aaron Rodgers better.  Rodgers made them look better with well timed escapes from the pocket that kept the sack totals lower than what they could have been.  Rookie RT Bryan Bulaga, 3rd year RG Josh Sitton, and center Scott Wells in his 7th season, simply need to get more push off the ball when rushing .  They tied for 8th with negative rushing plays running to the strong side with 17 during the regular season.  Again this is where they can improve and a bigger back in Starks may be the route they take.

On the left side is LT Chad Clifton, and another Boise State product in Daryn Colledge at left guard.  On the left side of the line the Packers were 24th with negative  rushing plays with only13.  A pretty good number for a team that runs a lot of draws and screens to their left.  Chad Clifton from time to time looks like he’s slowing down and then comes up with a big performance.  However facing the likes of Julius Peppers, Jared Allen, and the Justin Tuck’s of the conference can wear him down.  The Packers may look to groom his replacement this year now they have the luxury of drafting for want and not need.  With Rodgers suffering two concussions last year, its imperative they protect him by getting those precious first downs rushing right (strong side) and protecting Rodgers from the weak side. Injured Tackle Mark Tauscher is getting a little older also and probably will be replaced permanently by Bulaga. Right now they are so set with the line with a good mixture of youth and age.

Receivers: Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver, an James Jones are deadly as a set of receivers.  Throw in a Jermichael Finley at TE with a mature Rodgers and this team can threaten some all time NFL offensive numbers.  Jordy Nelson’s growth and Super Bowl performance of 9 catches for 140 yards and a TD could spell the end of Donald Driver as a go to guy.  Not only did he not get down on himself during the Super Bowl after dropping several passes he proved to be more than an intermediate possession receiver.  He got deep, he made catch and run plays on digs or deep in routes and showed the burst that the fading Driver once did.  Driver is slowing down and a draft pick could be spent here.  James Jones had several key drops during the playoffs and the Packers aren’t sure which #89 is going to catch the ball.  Will it be the #89 that climbed the ladder for a spectacular leaping TD against the Atlanta Falcons, or the streaking #89 who dropped a sure TD in Philadelphia during the wildcard as well as the near TD that could have put Super Bowl XLV out of reach with a second 18 point lead.  Could see some change at receiver this year but at least two receivers two years from now.

Greg Jennings is an ultimate pro and team player.  Please pay attention this is a great player in the prime of his career. Entering his sixth season, this is a receiver who makes big play after big play when the Packers need it.  He’s had 3 straight 1,000 yard season with 2 back to back over 1,200 yards.  The last two years he has had touchdown longs of 83 yards and has caught at least 6 passes over 40 yards over the last three years.  Go back to the Super Bowl when Pittsburgh had swung the momentum, who came through with a 31 yard catch to turn the tide back to the Pack??  On third down to boot!!  He remains injury free he will go by many of Sterling Sharpe’s numbers. He’s not better than Sterling, he……I digress.  Jennings is going to be making music with Rodgers for years to come gang.

Defensive Line: Ryan Pickett, B.J. Raji are decent at the point of attack but could be better anchors in keeping offensive lineman off of the linebackers. A little more push against the passing pocket could make a good defens a great one. In fact the key play that turned Super Bowl XLV was when backup Howard Green hit Roethlisberger which force the interception by Nick Collins and a 14-0 lead. Cullen Jenkins is a solid DE.  I could see a draft pick being used here as well.  The Packers could use a more impact player at the DE position.  Raji is a keeper but he does need to provide a little more push when rushing the passer.

Linebackers: Did the mantle of greatness leave the Steelers linebackers and thrust onto this team’s set?  Think thats overstated?  I watched James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, and James Farrior combine for 4 tackles in the Super Bowl when Clay Matthews out did that hmself and forced a crucial 4th down fumble.  Clay Matthews came in 2nd in the voting for NFL Defensive MVP yet did get many votes to be Super Bowl MVP.  He,  A.J. Hawk, and their hair were the two starters who remained injury free and were the playmakers among the front seven.  Hawk became the linebacker the Packer’s brass envisioned when they drafted him from Ohio St.

I still am scratching my head thinking “They won the Super Bowl without Brady Poppinga and Nick Barnett?”  To me, Poppinga had been the most complete LB before his injury and Barnett its soul.  Matthews has taken that mantle from them both.  As a unit this team could be frightening and their depth has to be considered a strength now that Zomba #58, Desmond Bishop #55 played admirably throughout the playoffs.  Throw in Brandon Chillar and I’m seeing a linebacking corps without a weakness.  Against the run, pass, rushing the QB, show me where they are deficient?  I’ll wait…

Clay Matthews is some kind of beast.  I thought his father was great, yikes.  This is going to be one of the faces of the NFL as Ray Lewis’ fades out with retirement.  The Packers should pull a coup and draft Casey Matthews of Oregon, yes his brother, just to confuse teams with the name and the hair when preparing for them.  LOL  In all seriousness being coached by Kevin Greene who is in tune with his young protege’, who told him in the Super Bowl that it was time for him to make a play.  Next play he forced the Mendenhall fumble.  We’re watching the beginnings of perhaps a Hall of Fame career and he did get my Super Bowl MVP vote for that fumble.  Hey, I like linebackers.

Secondary: Charles Woodson, the 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year had just as good a year in 2010.  The emergence of Sam Shields (from the U) allowed him to blitz from the nickel back  spot just as Dom Capers did with Rod Woodson some 15 years ago in Blitzburgh. Sam Shields as a rookie got better as the season wore on and capped his season with two timely interceptions in the NFC Championship Game v. Chicago.  Did I say two interceptions in a playoff game?  Well Tramon Williams #38 performed that feat in the divisonal round and put that game against the Falcons out of reach with a pick six of Matt Ryan on the last play of the second quarter.  Did I say intercepti0n for a TD?  Well isn’t that what Nick Collins did in Super Bowl XLV to put that game out of reach?  I know it was only 14-0, but no team has ever come from a 10-0 deficit to win a Super Bowl, so that play was that big.  This is a cornerback threesome that is headed to a great 2011.  Nick Collins and Atari Bigby are the NFC’s best set of safetys.  Please show me what this secondary can’t do.  Support the run, defend the deep ball, blitz the quarterback…very little holes.

This is a team that will draft for want more than need.  They almost have a free agency type of impact just coming off injured reserve.  Aside from a few spots on the defensive line and possibly the offensive line this team damn near doesn’t need to even attend the NFL Draft.  They can address future needs at receiver also.  Right now Coach McCarthy, Mark Murphy and Ted Thompson are toasting somewhere with grins from ear to ear.  The Packers are set for a five year run at the top of the NFL easily.

Top Ten Super Bowl Games

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When it comes to Super Bowl games, is it a curse or a blessing to have the last game of the season be great?  Funny how those games tend to give me the worst levels of anxiety from football withdrawal once they’re over.  This list is about the games that were the most exciting that left you wanting more football.  One where the outcome was in doubt

  1. Super Bowl XXXVIII- Patriots 32 Panthers 29:  Best ever played! We had a 0-0 defensive slugfest going when Tom Brady and Jake Delhomme gave us a preview of the 4th quarter each throwing TD passes for a 14-10 halftime score.  Then the defenses were getting ripped apart as each team scored  three times in the highest scoring quarter in Super Bowl history with 37 points.  Five TDs in the 4th quarter?? This was epic! In Carolina’s case it was 3 TDs which included a record 85 yard TD from Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammad.  Brady set record for completions with 32 of 47 for 354 yards and 3 TDs for the game with Delhomme 16 of 32 for 323 yards 3TDs and get this, a higher QB ranking.  Adam Vinatieri won it with a last second field goal but this one took your breath away.
  2. Super Bowl XXXII-Broncos 31 Packers 24: Remembered for John Elway finally becoming a champion came in one of the hardest hitting Super Bowls of all time.  Terrell Davis rushed for 157 yards and 3TDs in an MVP performance while Dorsey Levens ran for 90 yards for Green Bay.  Brett Favre kept firing back and threw for 3 TDs and the game came down to its final play.
  3. Super Bowl XLIII- Steelers 27 Cardinals 24: Cardinals in the Super Bowl?  Oh, sorry about that.  This game had wild swings of momentum and the best finish ever. Once Arizona figured out how to move the ball on Pittsburgh’s #1 ranked defense, they were poised to take a 14-10 lead when James Harrison intercepted Kurt Warner and rumbled 100 yards for a TD on the last play of the first half.  Steelers 17-7 was the 14 point swing here.  Larry Fitzgerald got hot, catching 7 for 147 and 2TDs including a 64yarder to give the Cardinals their first lead with 3:24 left in the game.  Then Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes answered for the Steelers with a drive and then touchdow for the ages.  Holmes back of the endzone toe tap catch with :10 left was the best game winner ever.
  4. Super Bowl XXV- Giants 20 Bills 19: The drama came down to a final missed field goal, but the escapism this game provided the country at the outbreak of the Gulf War was tremendous.  Contrasting styles of the methodical, plodding Giants and the K-Gun flash of Buffalo made it interesting also.  New York played keep away by possessing the ball for over 40 minutes.
  5. Super Bowl XIV- Steelers 31 Rams 19: You have to admit when you were watching this game it was like the Steelers couldn’t make the Rams go away.  Backup Vince Ferragamo and the Rams stood toe to toe with the defending champions and wouldn’t flinch.  Halfback option passes for touchdowns, 10 plays of 20 or more yards including 5 plays of 39 or more. This game had 1 tie and 7 lead changes!  Terry Bradshaw shook off 3 interceptions and took a 4th quarter lead with a 73 yard TD to John Stallworth, then came back to him for a 45 yard gain to set up the last touchdown.  The latter came after the Rams were driving to retake the lead and Lambert picked off Ferragamo inside his own 20.
  6. Super Bowl XXIII- 49ers 20 Bengals 16: Best showcase of safeties in a game of defense.  David Fulcher of Cincinnati and Ronnie Lott of the 49ers were all over the place with Fulcher playing the better game. With a sack, a forced fumble, a touchdown saving tackle at the 2 which resulted in a missed field goal, and 7 tackles at or near the line of scrimmage. Fulcher was the game’s MVP had it not been for Jerry Rice’s heroics.  After losing Tim Krumrie to a broken leg the Bengal defense put in a Herculean effort to hold back the 49ers but Joe Cool prevailed again. Montana threw for 357 yards and led the famous 92 yard TD drive in the waning seconds to win it.  What would have happened had Lewis Billups not dropped that interception in the 4th quarter?
  7. Super Bowl XIII- Steelers 35 Cowboys 31: The battle of champions with the winner to be crowned Team of the Decade for the 1970s and the first Super Bowl to conclude in prime time. This time Dallas was the defending champion and we had the highest scoring first half in Super Bowl history with 35 points (Steelers 21-14 lead), longest TD with Stallworth’s 75 yard TD from Terry Bradshaw, surprise defensive TD with Hollywood Henderson and Mike Hegman.  The famous dropped TD pass of Jackie Smith was a signature play but the Cowboys started to really move the ball on Pittsburgh in the 4th scoring two late TDs.  It was Bradshaw’s first 300 yard passing game and both Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were the first tandem to go over 100 yards in the same Super Bowl. Game had everything and I haven’t talked about Staubach, Dorsett, Tony Hill or Franco Harris yet.
  8. Super Bowl XXXIV- Rams 23 Titans 16: Kurt Warner and the Greatest Show on Turf with Marshall Faulk  were on the edge of blowing out the Titans, but couldn’t do it.  The scrappy Titan defense kept forcing them to try field goals instead of the accustomed “Bob and Weave” TD celebration.  The late Steve McNair and Eddie George finally got going in the second half and in a game of the tortoise and the hare started their methodical comeback.  Dominated the second half in points and time of possession, rallied to tie it at 16-16.  Yet MVP Warner then threw a 73 yard TD to Isaac Bruce to take a lead that would come down to the frantic last Titan drive.  The imge of Kevin Dyson stretching for that last yard being tackled by Mike Jones is burned into the memory.
  9. Super Bowl X- Steelers 21 Cowboys 17:  The best of the first ten Super Bowls by far.  All except with that “Up With People” halftime show…yikes!! “Hollywood Henderson” , a linebacker on a reverse with the opening kickoff??  Almost broke it too had Roy Gerela not made the tackle and bruised his ribs.  Doomsday shut down Franco Harris, yet couldn’t stop MVP Lynn Swann whose 4 catches for 161 yards and a 4th quarter TD.  The Steelers kept missing field goals and the game remained close.  The defenses held the offenses in check but Roger Staubach was able to hit Drew Pearson on the first TD allowed by the Steelers for the entire 1975 season.  The Steelers sacked him seven times but Roger kept firing until the bitter end.  Pittsburgh gave the ball to the Cowboys on downs allowing 3 shots from midfield for the win.  The final pass intercepted by Glen Edwards as time expired.
  10. Super Bowl V- Colts 16 Cowboys 13: This game had to be fun to watch. It was like a drunk on rollerskates.  Eleven turnovers, Johnny Unitas knocked from the game. Duane Thomas fumbled at the goal line when Dallas could have taken a commanding lead.  Johnny Unitas’ 75 yard touchdown to John Mackey bounced off two other players.  A 4th quarter come from behind victory by the Baltimore Colts based off of interceptions by “Mad Dog” Mike Curtis and Rick Volk setting up the Colts in Cowboy territory for a Tom Nowatzke TD and last second field goal by Jim O’Brien.  How could anyone have watched this game and had a clue who would win. LOL  Now get this for the last bit of humor; Chuck Howley, Cowboys linebacker wins the MVP and was on the losing side of the ledger and wouldn’t accept the award.  Bubba Smith, Colts defensive end refuses to wear the ring, and Bill Curry who played center said he looks upon his ring with “mixed feelings”.  Laughably sloppy… one day I’ll sit down and watch it since I was one at the time.